#on the behalf of a club that gave a goleada to my club earlier this year

[ramosalaplaya]

Chronology and documentation of the situation regarding Lucas Alario

My translation of a press release published by Club Atlético River Plate

Considering the multiple versions spread in the media during the course of the last few days, Club Atlético River Plate is sharing all of the information the Institution has and offers details on the course of action it decided to take in this situation.

August 23rd - Club Atlético River Plate (CARP) receives a proposal from Bayer 04 Leverkusen (B04) to acquire 100% of Lucas Alario’s economic and federative rights, for a total of €14 million plus another €2 million to be paid in stages, according to how the German club manages to advance in diverse tournaments (See document)

August 24th - CARP replies to the offer sent by B04, stating that the club considers the player as untransferable (See document)

August 25th - Lucas Alario announces in a post-training press conference that “it’s a matter between the clubs. It’s a question of negotiation. The only thing left is waiting”. “The offer is there, it’s real. My manager received it and he shared it with me, it’s something we have talked about. If i’m being honest: it’s something that interested us. It’s a matter of waiting, nothing else”.

August 27th - The new season of the Argentine Primera División officially starts and CARP debuts in an away game against Temperley. Just as it had been happening before, Lucas Alario normally plays as part of the Starting XI.

August 28th - It came to the attention of CARP that Alario was in the early hours of morning in Centro Diagnóstico Dr. Enrique Rossi (in Belgrano, Buenos Aires) in the middle of a medical examination without the club consent. Consequently, the Institution decides to send a notary public to the center, in order to verify the situation. In this sense, it’s stated that, effectively, Alario went through a medical examination, in the company of his manager, Mr. Pedro Aldave and a German physician, who was present as a representative of B04. As a result of these events, the notary public sent by CARP writes a record detailing the events and attaches the professional license of the German physician who was present in the examination (See document)

August 28th - Taking into consideration the actions of B04 and the player’s manager, Mr. Pedro Aldave, regarding the previously explained situation, CARP sends a note to B04, the German Football Association (DFB), the Argentine Football Association (AFA), the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). In said note, CARP holds B04 accountable for any damage derived from the situation. Likewise, it is argued in this note that, after CARP’s rejection of the offer made on 23/8, the German club induced the player to carry out the unilateral breach of his contract. This instigation with no justified cause, which happens after the beginning of the Argentine football season, goes against FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players that safeguard the contractual stability in the middle of tournaments. Article 16 affirms that “a contract cannot be unilaterally terminated during the course of a season” (See document)

August 30th - AFA replies to the note sent by CARP, expressing that it will join the club both in the complaint and request for a sanction directed to B04 (See document)

August 30th - Thanks to versions appearing in the media, CARP becomes aware that Club Atlético Colón would receive more that €3 million from B04 for 40% of Alario’s economic rights. In the same way, the media versions indicated that, to concrete this operation, Atlético Colón had to ask for a special authorization from a judge. Taking this situation into account and considering public statements by Mr. Pedro Aldave were already circulating in the media, saying that the judge had authorized the operation, CARP sends a formal offering of €5 million to Club Atlético Colón, to acquire 40% of the player’s rights. In the offering, Atlético Colón was also freed from any complication or future action CARP could take (See document)

August 31st - AFA notifies CARP of a deposit done by B04 into an account owned by AFA, which totals € 23.840.983,00 (See document)

September 5th - AFA forwards to CARP a request made by B04 for the liberation of Alario’s TMS data (Transfer Matching System). Once it’s notified, the club reiterates what had already been expressed in the note sent to AFA on 28/8, and rejects the request for the liberation of the TMS data (See document)

Conclusions

Taking the events and the diverse media versions into consideration, Club Atlético River Plate reaffirms that:

- The exit clause is a legal and legitimate figure that can be used by any player to discontinue their contract, only if the season has not started at the time of its activation.

- Under no circumstances has CARP acquired the economic and federative rights of any player who activated an exit clause, and such, the club denies the versions spread around the cases of Javier Pinola and Marcelo Larrondo, who arrived to the club as a result of agreements between the involved parties, as stated on the contracts stablished between the clubs (See document Pinola See document Larrondo)

- The club emphatically rejects the course of action taken by Bayer 04 Leverkusen, as it considers it an instigation to activate the termination clause, violating Article 16 of FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

- The operation is illegal and illegitimate and in this sense, the club will continue to defend the interests of the Institution in every corresponding area. Likewise, this position taken by CARP and supported by AFA represents an unlimited defense of Argentinian football in the global level.